ce-island till he got sick of it," remarked the captain. "'The
Curlew' can give him points, and outsail that great hulk anywhere."

"He's euchred, and may as well go about his business," laughed
Weymouth.

"And that's just what he's concluding to do, I guess," said Donovan,
who had borrowed my glass for a moment. "The ship's going round to the
wind."

"Yes, there she goes!" exclaimed Wade.

"Possibly they may bear up through the channel to the west of the
ice-island," said Raed.

"Hope he will, if he wants to," remarked Capt. Mazard. "Nothing would
suit me better than to race with him."

In fifteen or twenty minutes the ship was off the entrance of the
channel; but she held on her course, and had soon passed it.

"Now that old fellow feels bad!" laughed Kit. "How savage he will be
for the next twenty-four hours! I pity the sailors! He will have two
or three of them 'spread-eagled' by sunset to pay for this, the old
wretch! He looked just like that sort of a man."

"I wonder what our Husky friends thought of this little bombardment!"
exclaimed Wade, looking off toward the mainland. "Don't see anything
of them."

"Presume we sha'n't get that old 'sachem' that saw Palmleaf to visit
us again in a hurry," said Kit.

We watched the ship going off to the south-west for several hours,
till she gradually sank from view.

"Well, captain," said Raed, "you are not going to let this adventure
frighten you, I hope."

"Oh, no! I guess we can take care of ourselves. Only, in future, I
think we had better keep a sharper lookout, not to let another ship
come up within three miles without our knowing it."

It was now after four o'clock, P.M. Not caring to follow too closely
after the company's ship, we beat back to our anchorage of the
previous evening, and anchored for the night.

Saw nothing more of the Esquimaux; and, early the next morning, sailed
out into the straits, and continued on during the whole day, keeping
the mountains of the mainland to the northward well in sight at a
distance of eight or ten miles, and occasionally sighting high islands
to the south of the straits.

By five o'clock, afternoon, we were off a third group of islands on
the north side, known as the "Upper Savage Isles." During the evening
and night we passed them a few miles to the south,--a score of black,
craggy islets. Even the bright light of the waning sun could not
enliven their utter desolation. Drear, oh, how drear! with their
thu